Heel-plate-scouring machine



R. W. C. BASSETT AND A. E. JERRAM; HEEL PLATE SCOURING MACHINE.

. APPLICATIO D M R. 6.

1,353,8Q1 Patented Sept. 28, 1920.

Fi (.1. 6 g

W WM i M UNITED T T S erm re RICHARD. WILLIAM CHARLES Bassarr. AND ARTHUR Banner steam, or

LEICESTER, ENGLAND, AssIoNons, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO UNITED, SHOE ACH ERY oonroaarron, oFrArEn-sorr, New JERSEY, aiconro- :anrron on NE JERSEY.

HEEL-PLATE-COURING MACHIlN' E.

Application filed March 21 1916. Seria1-N o.*85,612i.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RICHARDHVV. O. BASSETT and ARTHUR E. JERRAM, subjects of the King of England, residing at Leicester, Leioestershire, England, have invented certain Improvements in Heel-PlateScour- 5 ing Machines, ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompa-.

nying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the draw ngs lndlcat- I ing like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for performing'cleaning, abrading and like operations upon parts of boots and shoes.

Many classes of heavy footwear are protected against wear by the provision of metal plates attached thereto at points where the wear tends to be greatest and customarily such plates are of horse-shoe shape and are applied to the heel and extend around the outside edge of the top liftof the'heel from one breast corner to the other. These heel plates are usually, as available in the trade, covered to some extent with scale and are more or less rough and pitted. Again as they are usually applied at somestage before the heel 'blacking or coloring operations their edges usually become wholly 1' or partially covered with ink or stain; and even with natural uncolored heels the wetting to which the heel is exposed in the finishing operation tends to rust theplate. Again the heel-finishing wax to'a' certain extent coats the plate and enters the pits and hollows of the plate. Itis desirable fora good finish that the edge or side surface of the heel plate shall be clean jand ished boot or shoe. 1

One feature of the present invention comprises a rotary brush, a guard rigid with the hub of said brush and having an annubright' in the fil lar supporting side face contacting with. the bristles of said brush-near the extremities thereof, and a combined work support or tread rest and gage of segmental outline located close to the periphery of the brush. With this construction the rest or support insures that the operative face of the brush shall accurately'engage the edge of the heel plate being operated upon, and the'annular guard prevents sidewise spreading of the bristles which otherwise might erably also the tread rest or work support 1 cause damage to the leather 'heel. I Prefis adjustable across the face of the brush provide for operating upon' the edges of plates of different thickness. 7 7

These andother features ofthekinven tion, including certain details of construction and combinations of partsfwill be set forth in connection with an illustrative machine and '.'pointed out in the appended claims. I i

In the" accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a part sectional elevation of certain parts of the machine showing the heel of a shoe in position to'have theedges of its plate scoured, and, Fig. 2 shows a partial side elevation. The machine comprises a shaft 1 adapt ed to be rapidly rotated'and to receive at'f' its free end a circular brush. The brushis formed of bundles 2 of stifl'wires and;

the operative surface of the 'brush'is constituted by the ends of the bundles which ends'are arranged to lie in asingle row. The axes of thebundles of wires are ini clined to the plane in whichthe free ends f 80. ternately through circular holes one or other of two flanges isposed in the plane ularly from a ring 3 aforesaid. Theinner ends of the bundles after they pass through the flanges are embedded in soft metal such as lead which is cast around them to fill up the hollows within the flanges onfeach sideof thering. The'rin'g 3, together withthe washers 4, i

5 contacting with the outside faces of the flanges and covering the 1 metal-filled hol-' "lows, is mounted 'uponasleeve' 6 and positioned thereon betweena shoulder 7 on one I end of the sleeve and a clamping nut 8 threaded upon the other end of the sleeve.

.95 Thesleeve is bored to fit the shaft a'bove referred to and is held thereon, with the shoulder on the sleeve toward the free end of theshaftl, by a set screw 9 which is 1*0 threaded through the shoulder and engages a recess in the shaft. Mounted upon and pinned to the shaft on the side of the brush remote from the free end of the shaft isa conical metal guard 10 the purpose of which is to sustain the wires 2 against lateral spreading duringv use of the brush Without affecting the resiliency of the elements of the brush in the plane of rotation of the brush. The conical guard is brought to a sharp edge which bears upon the sides of the bundles at a relatively short distance from their ends. .The guard is slightly hollowed internally to provide space for the end of the brush sleeve and the clamping nut on the same.

Near to but somewhat to one side of the free end of the shaft is a combined tread which is slightly greater han the radius or brush.

rest or work support for positioning the work and controlling the effective width of the brush. This support includes a fiat plate 11 which has a curved cutaway portion at one side the radius of curvature of V the brush (see Fig. 2). Along this cutaway side of the plate and conforming thereto is fixed a thick but relatively nar ferent thicknesses. The guard 10 prevents.

the wires from spreading and insures action upon only the side'surface of a heel adjacent its tread along a un form width of said surface fromone breast corner to the other. In other words, only the edge of the plate a will be scoured, and no damage will be caused to the surfaces of the leather portions of the heel. p

In operation the plate 11 is adjusted to leave exposed, to one side of the strip 12, a width of brush, measured from the guard side, corresponding to the'thickness of the heel plate a on the work. The brush is now rotated at high speed and the heel b of the boot or shoe is held with the tread surface of the heel plated in contact with the rest 12. The edge surface of the heel plate a is brou ht to bear a 'ainst the brush and the Work gradually turned to expose the different parts of the edge surface n turn to the actionv of the brush.

In the operation as thus carried out the rest 12-positions the work so that only a width of the brush ends corresponding to the width of the heel plate can act on the plate, the wires. at and near to the outside edges of the brush on the side opposite from the work-supporting strip bein prevented by the conical sharp-edged guard from spreading sidewise more than a very small amount and being thus prevented from cutting or tearing the leather of the heel lift adjacent to the heel plate. Never heless the flexibility of the brush in the plane of rotation is not interfered with. The rest 12 acts to hold the work away from the plate 11, on which it is carried, to a sufficient distance to give clearance for hob nails such as 'adicated at c or other protectors which protectors are sometimes inserted in the top lift within the horse-shoe shaped heel plate and project beyond the plane of the tread surface of the heel plate.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire; to secure. by Let ters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for scouring the side surface of a heel adjacent to its tread along a uniform width of said surface from one breast corner to the other, said machine having in combination, a rotary brush, a rotary guard of less diameter than the brush bearing against one side of it adjacent to its periphery, a rest for the heel tread, said rest 'having a curved edge the radius of curvature of which is slightly greater than the radius of the brush, and means for adjusting said rest toward and from the plane of rotation of the guard to vary the width of the heel surface being scoured...

2. A. machine for scouring the side surface of a heel adjacent to'its tread along a uniform. width of said surface from one breast corner to the other, said machine having in combination, a rotary brush, a concave guard rigid with'the hub of said brush and having an annularbristle supporting face of less diameter than that of the brush contacting with the bristles of said brush near the extremities thereof, a work support having anedge of segmental outline located close to the periphery of said brush said support being adjustableto position the work and to determine the effective widthrof the brush. 7

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

RICHARD WILLIAM CHARLES BASSET'l. ARTHUR ERNEST J-ERRAM. 

